We often need to create lists that display different types of content. For example, we might be working on a List that shows a heading followed by a few items related to the heading, followed by another heading, and so on.

How would we create such a structure with Flutter?

Directions

Create a data source with different types of items

Convert the data source into a List of Widgets

1. Create a data source with different types of item

Types of Items

In order to represent different types of items in a List, we’ll need to define a class for each type of item.

In this example, we’ll work on an app that shows a header followed by five messages. Therefore, we’ll create three classes: ListItem, HeadingItem, and MessageItem.

2. Convert the data source into a List of Widgets

In general, we’ll want to provide a builder function that checks for what type of item we’re dealing with, and returns the appropriate Widget for that type of item.

In this example, using the is keyword to check the type of item we’re dealing with can be handy. It’s fast, and will automatically cast each item to the appropriate type. However, there are different ways to approach this problem if you prefer another pattern!